Machine for opening and removing the contents of envelops.



No. '771.852, PATENTED OGT.11`, 1904. E. E. WOLF a W. H. GARRETT. MACHINE FOR OPENING AND REMOVING THE CONTENTS OP ENVBLOPS.

APPLICATION FILED GT.28.1903.

NO MODEL. 13 SHEETS-*SHEET 1.

Alf/VMM 1454? D M SNMNW) No. '77L852- PATBNTHU UGT. 1li, N04. E. B, WOLF a W. H. GARRBTT.

MACHINE POR OPENING AND REMVING THE CONTENTS OF ENVBLOPS.

APPLICATION HJD OCT. 2&1903,

"IU MODEL 13 SHEETSSHZIET 2.

y//M JW C W 'gg attenua;

No. 771,952. PATENTRD OCT. l1, M04, B. E. WOL?1 a W. H. GARRETT.

MACHINE FUR OPENING AND REMOVING THE GGNTBNTS 0F ENVELOPSx urmonmn mLnD OCTt 2n, 1903A nu mouw 1a SHEETS-SHEET a.

wi hannes 7M @,Wfy- 3414er* 1.1 .Mw www Nnv 771,952. PATENTBD UGT. 11, H104.

WOLF L W. H. GARRETT. ING AND RBMOVING THB CONTENTS UP BNVEL OPS* MACHINE FOR OPEN APPLICATION FILED 0CT.28.1903.

13 SHEETS-SHIIET NU MODUL,

No. ]7l.852, PATENTEU OCT. 1l, 1904, Ii. E. WOLF L W. H. GARRETT. MACHINE POR OPENING AND REMOVING THE CONTENTS UP ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 28i 1903.

RU MODEL.

13 SHEETS-SHBET 5.

nanowf F2121 erE. Tf1/Enf,A Wmmrrdfl PATENTHD OCT. 1l, 1904. H. GARRETT.

13. WOLF L W. MACHINE PUR UPENING AND REMOVING THE CONTENTS 0F ENVELOPS.

APPLIQATON FILED OCT4 28, 19034 Pi() MODEL No. Mmm PATBNTRD 0ST. u, 19011. L3. E, WOLF L W. H. GARRETT, MACHINE PUR UPENING AND REMOVING THB CONTENTS OP ENVBLOPS.

APPLIOATIN FILED 001228.19013.

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No. 771,852. PATENTHD UGT. 1l, 1904. B. E, WOLF da W. H. GARRETT.

MACHINE FON UPHNING AND REMUVING THE CONTENTS 0F ENVBLOPS. APPLIOATIQN FILED 061228. 1903.

N v 4. .U MOFLE 1S SBEETS-SELZT EL Hmerlf Mlf.

No. 771.852. PATENTHD UGT. ll 1904. E. Il. WOLF@ W. H. GARRBTT. MACHXNE IOf UPBNING AND REMVING THB CONTENTS 0F INVELOPS.

APPLIOATIGN TILBD 0CT.2B,1903. K0 MODEL.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

No. 771852. PATBNTED UGT. 11, 1.90/1.

E. E. WULF L W. H. GARRETT.

MACHINE FUR OPENING AND RBMOVING THE CONTENTS 0F ENVELOPS oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo s.

13 snzmsrsm'r 1o4 PATBN'NID OCT. 1l, M104.

H. GARHBTT.

E. B. WOLF da W.

MACHINE FOR UPENING AND REMUVING THE CONTENTS F ENVELOPS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2S. i903.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 1l.,

N() MODEL x lvlllla uwnfow Emerg PVZf, WllzmJLGa aucun/1 No. 771.852. PATENTBD OCT. 11, 1904. E. B. WOLF L W. H. GARRETT. MACHINE Ul OPENING AND RBMOVING THE CONTENTS 0F ENVBLOPS.

APPLxoATmN FILED om, ze` 190s.

MGi-LL 1s sums-amm 12.

PATBNTEI) OCT. l, 19011.

E. E. WOLF L W. H. GARRETT. MACHINE FOR UPENNG AND REMOVNG THB CONTENTS 0F ENVELOPS.

APPLIOATOH TLBD 0GT.28.1003

Elmer-E "lf,

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and has for its object to provide an automatic invention we call attention to the money-order States, residing at Springfield, in the county o f 'velops, of which the followingis a specifica- ELMER E. WOLF AND W'ILLAM H.

Patented October 11. 1.90/1.

PATENT OFFICE.

GARRETT, OFV SPRINGFIELD, OHIO,

vASSIGrNORS, BY DiRECl AND `MESNE ASSlGrNilIEN'lS,` T O THE LELTER OPENING COMPANY. OF'SPRNGFIELD, OHIO.

MACHINE roRioPnims AND Rimovme me CONTENTS ci rumors.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 771,852, dated October 11, 1904.

Application and cette 2s, lads.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ELMER E. WoLF and WILLIAM H. Gannn'rncitizens .of the United Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Opening and Removing the Contents of En;

tion, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to machines for opening and removing the contents of envelope,

mechanism whereby envelops may be opened and their contents removed therefrom, the envelops and contents being discharged or delivered at separate points. Y

It is the chief object of the invention to provide an automatic machine which wili perform these operations in a rapid and effectual manner.

As an illustration of one application of the business of the post-oiiices in which large numbers of communications are received at each post-oliice, each communication consist ing of an envelop and one or more inclosed sheets or slips of paper, the enveiops being all of the same size and the inclosedls'lips or sheets being also all of the same size. In postoices of any considerable importance such communications are daily received by the hundred and by the thousand, and a large portion of the time of one or more employees is devoted solely to the work of opening these envelops and removing their contents. The present machine is devised, primarily, for the purpose of doing this work in a rapid and efficient manner; and to this end our invention consists in certain novel features., which we will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings1 Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a machine embodying our invention in one form. Fig. 2 is a plan View, partly in section. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, on an enlarged scale, the

gear-casing boing removed. Fig. 4 is a ver- Serial No. 173,836. (No model.)

tical longitudinal sectional view taken on the line e of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic .view illustrating the operation of thc m achinc. Fig. 6 is a plan view of thc feeding-cylinder and its associated parts. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line y y of Fig. 6. Fig. S is a detail perspective view of a portion of the needle-armsand their shaft. Fig. 9 isafront elevation of the movable or swinging separating-roll and its associated mechanism. Fig. 10 is an end elevation of what is shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the swinging pressure device and its operating devices. Fig. 12 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the separating-rclls- Fig. 14 is a similar view of the other` separating-roll. Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken on the lino s of Fig. 13. Fig. 16 is a sectionai view taken on the line uu of Fig. 14.. Fig. i? is a longitw dinal sectional View of the stripping or re- .tarding roll. Fig. 18 is a perspective vieu' of the front-edge cutter. Fig. 19 is a detail View of the auxiliary needle-points carried by the main frame and also shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 2() is a detail sectional view of thc fecdchute, and Fig. 21 is a rear view of the lower part of the machine as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

In the said drawings the frame of thc machine is shown as consisting of two upright side members 1 and 2, suitably tied or bolted together. At the rear of this frame there is located a feed-chute 3, in which the letters are placed upright, their lower edges resting on the bottom of the feed-chute and the several letters being arranged in a pack or bod y, resting against a stopplate 4 at the lower end of the feed-chute. A weighted pusher 5 slides along the feed-chute and presses the letters down against the stop-plate 4. r1`he feed-ch utc may be of any suitable construction, but is preferably provided with a bottom composed of antifriction-rollcrs 6 and a belt or band of y the pusher down upon the letters. 'lhc feedchute is '[nefera'bly pivotally connected to the main frame of the machine, as indicated at 9, so as to permit its angle to he adi usted as desired.

Within the main frame is mounted a shaft 10, provided at one end with a crank-handle 11 or other suitable means for imparting to it a rotary motion. VVit-hin the main frame between the side plates 1 and 2 there is mounted on the shaft 10, so as to rotate therewith, a drum or cylinder 12, which may betermed the feeding-cylinder,since themain function of said cylinder is the feeding forward of the letters, first to the cutters, by which the envelop is opened, and then to the separating-rolls, by which the envelop and contents are separated. Cooperating with thefeeding-cylinder are two sets-of guide-rods, between which the letters travel to 'the point where the cutting operations are completed. The lower set of guide-rods (indicated by the reference-nu mera'l 13) are attached to the frame or to a 'cross-'bar 14 thereof at 'the Tear of the ma- 'c'hine 'belowfthe stop-plate 4. Said guide-rods 13 extend thence from the 'upper edge of the stop-plate around the upper part of the cylinder 12 to a point adjaeentto the front edge cutter. The 'cylinder l2 is provided with grooves 15, 'in which the guide-rods 13 lie. The 4'upper guide-rods are indicated b v the reference-numeral 16 and are attached to a cross-bar 17 at the rear upper portion of the machine l'Iheir operative portions begin at a 'point above the stop-plate 4 and in advance offthe'stripping-roll, hereinafter referred to, and 4said guide-rods extend thence around the upper portiono'f the cylinder 12 a slight distance above fthe :guide-rods 13, so as to leave a space between the guide-surfaces formed by the two sets of guide-rods, in which space the letters ltravel. The upper guide-rods terminate-above the front-edge cutter.

The feeding-cylinder 12 is provided with 'means for gripping or seizing the end letter of the pack of letters lying in the feed-chute t'. lfthe 'lowermostletten which rests against theswpdplaite 4. Tofthis end the stopplate is 'provided with vertical slots 18, and there is mounted in the'cylinder 12 a-roek-shaft 19, 'oneendof which is extended 'beyond the end of the'qv'iinderand'provided with an arm 20, having a 'piu or rdller'21 at its extremity. A fixed'eamqillate 22 is 'supported from the upright 1o`f the frame adjacent to this end of the'cylnder 12, Vand said cam-plate has in its 'outer face aeam-groove23, in which the pin "2'1 Et'rave'ls,said cam-'groove being indicated in dotted 'lines yin 'F-ig. 7. A rocking or oscillating'movement isthus imparted to the shaft 19 at suitable intervals, 'and said shaft is provided wit'hneedle-arms 24, which may be projected through slots 25 in the cylinder 12, their outerends being provided with needlepoints'26,as shown more particularly in Fig.

8, '1`hc arms 21 are provided with lateral [langes 2T on cach side of the needle-points 2G to act as strippers to aid in disengaging the needle-points from the letters. As the cylinder 10 rotates-the needle-arms are. projected therefrom before they reach the stopplate f1, and when they reach said stop-plate they extend through the slots 18 thereof and engage the lowermost letter of the pack, lifting it upward and carrying it between the guide-rods 13 and 16, said letter at the same time resting on the curved surface or periphery of the cylinder 12. [n order to prevent two letters from being thus engaged and carried up at the same time, we employ a stripping or retarding device, located above the stop-plate and consisting of a roll 28, lying adjacent to the cylinder 12 and rotating in the same direction as said cylinder, so 'that the surfaces of the cylinder and roll, which lie in immediate proximity to each other, move in opposite directions. This strippingroll is driven at a relatively high rate of speed by the mechanism hereinafter described and is preferably composed of a pluralityof disks 29, of rubber, clamped between collars 30 on a sleeve 31, provided at one end with a head 32 and at the other end with a clamping-nut 33. The sleeve 31 is in turn secured in any suitable manner on a shaft 34, mounted in suitable bearings in the main frame and provided at one end with a gear 35, by which said shaft and the roll 28 are driven. The upper guide-rods 1G pass through the spaces between the disks 29, of which the roll 28 is composed. In case a second letter adheres to or follows up the first letter engaged by theneedle-arms said second letter will come into contact with the roll 28, which will strip it from the first letv ter and prevent its passing into the body of the machine along with said first letter. The letter thus guided between the two sets of guiderods and held on the rotating feed-cylinder, with the needle-arms thereof in engagement with said letter, is carried to the opening mechanism, by means of whichthe envelop is opened along three of its edges. This opening mechanism preferably consists of cutters which sever the two short lateral edges of the envelop and also one of the longer edges, preferably the front or leading edge, the envelop being carried through the machine with one of its longer edges in advance. The envelop is first carried to the cutters which remove the lateral edges. These cutters are two in number (indicated by the referencenumeral 36) and are in the form of disk cutters mounted on a shaft 37, provided with a gear 38, which meshes with the gear 35 of the stripping-roll, so as to drive said roll. Said gear 38 also meshes with a gear 39 on the shaft 10, by which means the cutters 3G are driven. These cutters lie immediately adjacent to the ends of the cylinder 12, and the ends of the envelop project somewhat beyond IOC IOS

thc ends of the cylinder, so as to be severed as they pass under the cutters. lt will be noticed that the cylinder is flattened or cut away at diainetrically opposite points, as in dicnted at 40, the remainder of its external peripheral surfaces being cylindrical in outline, as indicated at 41. The letter rests upon one of these cylindrically-curved portions of the peripheral surface of the cylinder 12 during this cutting operation and is supported therebyY while its ends are being cut oif. The clippings arising from the operation of the cutters 36 are discharged upon plates 42, which extend ina downwardly-inclined direction to the front of the machine and form discharge-chutes which receive and carry olf the said clippings. The letter is next carried forward by the feed-cylinder to the frontedge cutter. Inits preferred form this cutter, which is shown in detail in Fig. 18, consists of a spiral knife 43, mounted on a shaft 44 in suitable bearings at the front of the machine. This shaft is provided at one end with a gear 45,' which meshes with an idle gear 46, supported on the frame 1. This idle gear in turn meshes with a gear 47, loosely mounted on the shaft 10' and meshing With'a large gear 48, mounted on a shaft 49. This shaft also carries a small gear 50, which rotates in unison with the gear 48 and which meshes with a gear 51, secured on and rotating with the shaft 10. The knife 43 operates in conncction with a ledger-plate 52, located immediateliT below the ends of the guide-rods 13 and 16, said ledger-plate being supported by lugs 53 from one of the cross-bolts 54 oftheframe of the machine. This ledger-plate also serves as a convenient means of attachment of the ends of the guide-rods 16. Said plate is also preferably provided with an upwardly-extending guide-plate 55 to guide the advance edge of the envelop into proper cutting position after it has passed beyond the control of the guide-rods. In order to insure the proper positioning of the letter relatively to the cutter 43 and ledger-plate 52, we emplor certain positioning devices, which we will now proceed to describe in their preferred form.

Mounted in the cylinder 12 adjacent to and parallel with the shaft 19 is a similar shaft 56, provided with agearsegment57,which meshes with a similar gear-segment 58 on the shaft 19. The shaft 56 is provided with pushingarms 59, adapted to be projected through the slots 25 and terminating in hook-like extremities 60, which are adapted to bear against the rear edge of the letter and force the same forward. The arrangement is such that as the forward edge of the letter approaches the cutter 43 the needle-arms 24 are withdrawn into cylinder 12 and disengaged from the letter, as indicated by the dotted line a in the diagrammatic view Fig. 5. At the same time the pushing-arms 59 are projected from the cylinder l2, their course being indicated hv the dot-and-dash line in Fig. 5, so thatthcy engage the rear edge ci' the letter and con tinne to move forward after the needle-arms 24 have been disengaged therefrom. The reason for this is that sometimes a second letter is carried up from the feed-chute as far as the stripping-1oll, and when prevented from entering the machine by said roll it romains in an elevated position, so that when the needle-arms 24 engage it at the next revoluf tion of the cylinder they engage it at a point too far back of the forward edge ofthe letter. If the needleearms 24 were relied upon to carry the letters around to the front cutter, itis obvious that in a case of this kind the ietter would project too far at its forward edge when the needle-arms drawn, so that too much of the forward edge would be cnt off and the contents of the letter might be mutilated. This is avoided b v withdrawing the needle-points before the feeding movement of the letter toward the frontedge cutter is completed. The pushing-arms 59 position the letter with respect to its rear edge, and as soon as the forward edge of the letter has come into proper position the pushing-lingers are withdrawn into the cylinder, as indicated by the dot-and-dash linel L in Fig. 5 hereinbefore referred to.

As an additional means for insuring the proper forward feed and holding of the lctter with respect to the cutter 43 we employ a plurality of needle-points 6l, carried by an o:- ellatinghead 62, mounted on ashaft 63, which is in turn mounted in the main frame of the machine. This shaft 63 is located above the cutter 43, parallel therewith, and is provided with an arm 64, which is connected by a link 65 with an arm 66, extending from a rock- Shaft 67, mounted in the main frame. One end of this rockhaft extends beyond the side frame 2, as shown in Fig. 1, and is there provided with an arm 68, having on its free extremity a pin or roller 69, which engages with a cam-groove in the outer face of a cam-wheel 71, secured on the shaft if). This cam-groove is indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and its construction is such that as the needle-arms 24 are withdrawn the shaft 63 is rocked in such a way as to bring the needle-points 61 down into engagement with the letter. This rocking movement of the shaft 63 continues as long as the pushingarms 59 are in engagement with the rear edge of the letter. Nhen the forward edge of the letter is in final position to be cut ofi', the pushing-arms 59 are withdrawn into the interio: of the cylinder 12, and b v this time the shaft 63 has moved so far that the needlepoints 6l are in full engagement with the letter. Three successive positions of the necdle-points 61 are shown in Fig. 5. At this point the letter is stationary between the guide-rods 13 and 16, being held by the nec- 24 were finally .with- IIO dle-points 61, which are stationary during the cutting, and one ofthe (iattened or reduced portions 40 of the cylinder 12 being then passing under it and opposite the cutter 4?. This gives room for the cutter to revolve without. coming intocontact with the cylinder, and the front edge of the letter` which projects a trifle below the ledger-plate52, is severed by the knife 43. The clippings aredischarged upon an inclined plate 72, which forms a chute by means of which said clippings are conducted to a suitable point of discharge at the front of the machine. The envelop has now been opened along' three of its edges, but still is a continuous sheet, the front and back being united at the rear edge and the 4contents being still within the envelop. In this condition it is fed forward to theseparating-rolls by the following devices: The shaft 63 resumes its forward movement, and the needle-points 61 advance the letter at the same time that they are gradually withdrawn from'engagement therewith. In the cylinder 12 'there is mounted at a point-about diametrically opposite the rock-shaft 19 a rock-shaft 73, one end of which is extended through vthe end of the cylinder and is provided with an arm 74, carryingr on its free extremity a pin or roller 75, which travels in a cam-groove 76, formed in the inner face of the fixed cam-plate 22. -The rock-shaft 73 is provided with pushing-lingers 77, terminating -i'n hook-like extremities 78, which are adapted to be projected through slots 79 in the cylinder 12. After the front edge of the envelop has been cut -olf in the manner already described the pushing-fingers '77 are projected so as to engage the rear edge of the letter and force it downward toward the separating-rolls. The path of the pushingarms 77 is indicated by the double dash-anddot line c in Fig. 5. After completing their feeding motion, which continues after the needle-points 61 have been disengaged, thc pushing-arms 77 are again withdrawn into the cylinder. By this means, aided by certain other devices hereinafter referred to, the letter is carried to the separating mechanism, which we will now proceed to describe. In their broadest form these separating devices consist of two contact or working surfaces moving in opposite directions and having diHerent degrees of tenacity. This latter word is used with respect to the holding power or power of engagement which said surfaces exert upon the papcrs surface with which they come in contact. In their preferred form they consist of two rolls revolving in the same direction, so that their adjacent surfaces move in opposite direction. One of them is provided with a working surface of superior tenacity, preferably cmerycloth or the like, while the other is provided with a working surface of inferior tenacity, preferably rubber. For purposes of identilication we will refer to these rollshereinafter as the superior and "inferior" rolls, respectively. l`he inferior roll is preferably drivenat a higher rate of speed than the superior roll,and provision is made for varying the distance between the rolls, preferably 'by moving the inferior roll toward and from the superior roll. Referring to the `specific embodiment of our invention chosen for purposes of illustration, thevsuperior roll isindicated by the reference-numeral 8O and the inferior roll by the reference-numeral 81. rIlle former is shown in detail in Figs. 14 and 116 of the drawings and comprises a shaft 82, 'by means of which the roll is driven, and -a body portion 83, having grooves 84 to 'receive the guide -rods hereinafter referred to. 'lll-'ie working surface of the roll is ycomposed of Aa roughened material--such` for instance, as emery-cloth-(ndicated at 85.) This roll is driven by means of a gear 86 on its shaft 82, which meshes with a gear 87, mounted loosely on a shaft 88 and meshing with ythe gear 39. The inferior roll 81 (shown in `detail in Figs.- 13 and 15) comprises a metal body 90, mounted on a shaft 91 and having a working'surface of less tenacity than that of the superior roll. We prefer to employ for this surface rubber, as indicated at 92. The roll 81 is provided with circumferential grooves 93 to receive certain guiderods hereinafter referred to. The roll 81 is suspended from arms 94, secured at their upper ends on the shaft 88, which is mounted to rock in bearings 95 in the frame. The shaft 91 of said roll is extended through a slot 96 in the side frame 2 and is there supported in a bearing 97 in an arm 98, secured on the shaft 88. 100 indicates a lever mounted loosely on the shaft 88 and provided at its upper end with a cam pin or roller 101, which travels in a cam-groove 102, formed in the inner face of the cam-wheel 71. This cam-groove is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The other end ofthe cam-lever 100 (indicated at 103) extends over a flange or projection 104 from the arm 98 and is provided with a bolt 105, which extends loosely through an aperture in the [lange or projection 104. The bolt 105 is provided with an adjustingnut 106 and a lock-nut 107, and a spring 108 is coiled around said bolt, its lower end resting against the nut 106 and its upper end against the under side of the projection 104. By reason of this construction the arm 98 ordinarily moves in unison with the lever 100 and through the rock-shaft 88 and arms 94 swings the roll 81 toward and from the roll 80; but when the roll 81 is pressed upward against some opposing object, such as a letter, with sufficient force it is permitted to yield by the compression of the spring 108. rl`he tension at this point may be readily adjusted by means of an adjusting-nut 106, while a stop-screw 99 provides means for adjusting the limit of upward movement of the roll81.

IOO

IIO

',lhe roil 81 is driven by means of a gear 109 on its extended end, said gear meshing with a gear 110, mounted loosely on the shalt S8 and connected with the gear 87, so as to rotate in unison therewith. The gears 110 and 87 are so proportioned that the speed of ro tation of the inferior roll 81 is :noch greater than that of the superior roll 8U. Y

In connection with the separating-rolls we cmpoy a second pair of sets of guide-rods. The guiderods of the upper set, (indicated by the reference-numeral 111)are supported at their lower ends on a cross-132115112, their upper ends being free and lying in the grooves 15 of the cylinder 12, so that the letters will pass downward in front of said rods. Said rods extend downward and around the supe# rior roll in the grooves 84, in which they lie, extending thence rearward between the envelop discharging rolls in the manner hereinafter described. The guide-rods of the lower set, (indicated by the numeral 113) are attached at their rear ends to a cross-bar 114 of the frame and extend thence first between the envelop discharge rolls and then hetween the superior and inferior separatingrolls, lying in the grooves 93 of the latter when it is raised.

In order to guide the letter as it descends from. the front-edge cutter in front of the guide-rods 111, so as to hold it against said guide-rods and press it against and into engagement with the roll 80, we employ an oscillating presser device consisting of resilient rods 116, mounted at their upper ends on a rock-shaft 117, which is oscillated by means of a link 118, the upper end of which is pivoted to a projection 119. from the arm 68, while its lower end is pivoted to an arm 120 on` the roch-shaft 117. This presser device may also comprise a presser-roll 121, mounted to rotate in arms 122, projecting from the rock-shaft 117, said presser-roll being provided with circumferential grooves 123130 receive the rods 116. The movements of this presser device are so timed that as the letter moves downward from the front-edge cutter under the influence of the pushing-arms 77, said presser device moves toward the roll 8G and the upperends of the guide-rods 111 and holds the letters against said rods and in engagement with said roll until the letter is moved into a position to be grasped between the separating-rolls. The inferior roll 81 is then moved up, so that the ietter is grasped between the rolls 80 and 81, and the presser device then swings outward to make room for the movements of the envelop duringthe separating operation and to permit the free discharge of the contents at the front of the machine.

At the rear of the separatingroils are lo cated the envelop-discharge roiis. the upper one of which, 124:, is mounted in lixed bear ings and positively driven by a gear 125, meshing with the gear ST. 'lhe other dischargeroll, 126, is mounted to rotate freely in arms 127,which are forced toward the roll 12:1 h r springs 128. The guide-rods 111 and 113 extend from the separating-rolls to these discharge-rolls and between them in grooves 115, the rods 111 and 113 lying in tht` grooves of the upper and lower rolls, respcctiveiy. in describing the operation of this part of the mechanism we shall refer to that side of the `envelop which has heretofore been in contact with the cylinder 12 as the hach of the envelop` the other side being referred to as the front Bearing in mind that the envelop engages between the separating-rolls with its advance edge and lateral margins or ends opened or cut` the following action takes place: The baclr of the envelop is pressed firmly against the superior roll and being held byits superior tenacity is carried steadily rearward by said roll to the discharge-rolls1 being unaifected by the action of the inferior roll. The front of the envelop, on the other hand, is engaged by the inferior roll 81, and is thereby moved outward toward the front of the machine into the form of a bow or loop, as indicated in Fig. 5. The contents of the envelop moves outward toward the front of the machine along with the front of the envelop, and when the severed edge of the front of the envelop has passed ont from between the separating-rolls said contents is discharged at the front of the machine into a suitable receptacle. The envelop itself still has its back portion engaged by and moving with the superior roll, and as soon as the con tents is discharged from said envelop its rearward movement continues, for the reason that even when gripped between the two rolis the superior tenacity of the superior roll causes it to follow the movement of that. roll and not the movement in the opposite direction of the inferior roll. In the meantime the severed edge of the baci: of the envelop has reached and is grasped between the discharge-rolls 124 and 126, and when the inferior roli drops away frornpthe superior roll these dischargerelis carry the envelop out of the machine and discharge it at the rear into a suitable rcceptacle. The higher velocity of the inferior roll is of material advantage, in that it moves the front of the envelop quickly outward and discharges the contents before they can be accidentally carried back far enough to become engaged by the envelop-discharging dcvices. Moreover, since the contents of the envelop are in the form of smooth sheets of paper, having only smooth bearings on similar sheets of paper constituting the inner surface of the envelop, it is obvious that if the two rolls moved at the same rate of speed there would be no reason for the contents to have any tendency to move in one direction rather than the other; but thc higher rate of speed of the inferior roll gives all of Without any further description. Suioieint ltosay that after the feed-chute has the Sheets of paper between the two rolls :i tendency to move in the direction in which said inferior roll is moving, with the exception of the sheet constituting the back of thc envelop, which is engaged with the superior roll .and is compelled hy its superior tenacity to move alongwith it. lf the contents of the envelop Iconsists of a number of separato sheets, we have found in practice that they will all be-discharged at the front of thc machine even if the front of the envelop passes outward 1and forward from between the rolls before ithe several sheets constituting the contents are also passed outward and forwarded from between the rolls, since any sheets of said contents remaining between the rolls will besuccessivelycarried forward and discharged at the front of the machine just as the front of 'the envelop was carried forward. Of come Since the -ront :and back of the envelofp are notfsevered a't all four of their edges, but remain -united along lone edge, said envolop constitutes a sin'gle sheet, and when the oonents'olf *the envelop has been discharged and 'the rontof the envelop has vbeen thrown mit forward from between the separatingroifls said envelop constitutes a single sheet, Whfiolh .is 'the only sheet between the two separating-rolls, and when there is but a single sheetbetweensaid rolls such sheet must move to the rear by reason of the superior tenacity oififhe roll `8O.

' :Asithe operation of the machine has been descri-'bed indetai'liniconnection with the desc ri ptoino'fthe construction ofthe various mechanism'solfwhfich it is'corn'posed, the operation of the mac'hineas-a Whole will he readily underieenfsupplied with letters rotation of thc shaft l@ by ilixa'nd or power will result in the passage olf the letters one by one through the ma chine, the 'envelops being opened, their contents discharged at one point, and the empty envelops discharged at another point: ln inra-twice we 'find that the machine is capable olf pm'onningthis ser-ics of operations at the falte 'of fourteen thousand 'letters per hour, and lit will thus 'be fscen that a very material saving in time and labor is effected thereby.

We do molt wiish 'to be understood as limiting @meines strictly 'to the -`precise details of construction iluereinbefore described, and showin in the accompanying drawings, as the same may obviously "be modified without departing :from the principle of lour invention.

Having' thurs fully described ourinvention, wiliialtwcwlaimms new, and desire to secure by Batters Patent, iis-h y L machine ifor opening and removing the contents io'f 'envelopa :comprising means for opening the envelorpnilong three yof its edges, means forsepanating the envelop and its contents-and discharging'them at separate points, and means for feeding the envelop and its Itis` conlcnis lirsl lo thc opening mechanisu'i and thcncc to lhc separating mechanism, substanti:il| \vv as described.

2. ln a inachincolthccharactcr described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces in immediate proximity to each other and traveling' in opposite directions, said surfaces being of dill'crenttenacity, substantially as dcscribed.

3. ln a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces traveling in opposite directions, said surfaces being of different tenacity, and means for pressing' one of said surfaces toward the other with a yielding pressure, substantially as de scribed.

4. ln a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces in immediate proximity to each other and travelingr -in opposite directions at different speeds, said surfaces being of different tenacity, substantially as described.

5. 1n a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces traveling in opposite directions and `at differcnt speeds, said surfaces being of different tenacity, and means for pressing one-of said surfaces toward the other with a yielding pressure, substantially as described.

6. 1n a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces, one of superior tenacity and traveling in one direction, and the other of inferior tenacity and traveling in the opposite direction at a higher rate of speed, and means for pressing said last-mentioned surface toward the other surface with a yielding pressure, substantially as described.

7. ln a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls rcvolving in the saine direction with their work ing surfaces in immediate proximity, said surfaces being of different tenacity, substantially as described.

8. In a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and -its contents, comprising two parallel rolls revolving in the same direction and having working surfaces of different tenacity, and means for pressing one of said rolls toward the other with a yielding pressure, substan tially as described. Y

9. ln a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls revolving in the same direction and at different speeds, with their working surfaces in immediate proximity` Said surfaces being of different tenacity, substantially as described.

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lO. ln a machine-of thecharactcr described, mechanism l'or separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls rcvolving in the same direction and atdill'crent speeds, said surfaces being of different tenacity, and means for pressing one ol' said rolls toward the other with a yielding pressure, substantially as described.

ll. ln a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls revolving in the same direction with their working surfaces in immediate proximity, the working surface of one roll being roughened and the working surface of the other roll being yielding, substantially as described.

12. In a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls revolving in the same direction with their Working surfaces in immediate proximity, the working surface of one roll being of emery-cloth and the working surface of the other roll being of rubber, substantially as described.

13. In a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls positively driven in the samedirection at different speeds, said rolls having working surfaces of different tenacity, one of said rolls being mounted in fixed bearings, pivoted arms carrying the said second roll, means for moving the same toward and from the first roll, and

-a spring interposed vbetween said swinging arms and their actuating means, whereby the roll carried by said arms operates with a yielding pressure, substantially as described.

14. 1n a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls positively driven n the same direction atdiii'erent speeds, said rolls having working surfaces of different tenacity, one of said rolls being mounted in fixed bearings, pivoted arms carrying the said second roll, means for moving the same toward and from the first roll, a spring interposed between said swinging arms and their actuating means, whereby the roll carried by said arms operates with a yielding pressure, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring, substantially as described.

15. In a machine ofthe character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two parallel rolls revolving in the same direction with their working surfaces in immediate proximity, said surfaces being of different tenacity, said rolls being provided with circumferential grooves, and guiderods located on opposite sides of the path of the letter and extending between said rollsin thegrooves thereof, substantially as described.

16. In a machine of the character described, mechanism for separating an envelop and its contents, comprising two working surfaces of dill'crcnt tcnncitiv in immediate proximity in cach other and traveling in oppnsiic direc tions, in combination with meansl located on the discharge side of the roll ol' superior tenacity for engaging and bearing oli' the en volop, substantially as described.

17. In amachine of thccharactcr described, the combination, with means for separating an envelop and its contents, of envelop ull'- bearing rolls to receive and positively cariv ofi' the envelops, substantially7 as described.

18. in a machine of the character dcscri hed. the combination, with circumferential groovcd separating-rolls, ofsimilarly-grooved envelop rid-bearing rolls, and guide-rods extending from one of said set of rolls to the other and also between the rolls of each set in the grooves thereof, substantially as described.

i9. In amachine of the character described, the combinatiomwith circumferential groovcd separating-rolls, having working surfaces of different tenacity and positively driven in op posite directions, of envelop ofi-bearing rolls similarly grooved, one of said o'- bearing rolls being positively driven and the other beingyieldingly pressed againstit, and guide' rods lying on opposite sides of the path of the envelop, extending from one set of rolls to the other, and also between the rolls of cach set, lying in the grooves thereof, substantially as described.

20. In a machine of the character described, the combination, with means for separating an envelop and 'its contents, of mechanism for first opening the envelop along three of its edges, comprising cutters operating at the sides of the path of the letter to sever the lateral edges of the envelop, and a cutter operating across the path of the letter to sever the front or leading edge of the envelop, sub stantially as described.

21. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination, with means for separati ng an envelop and its contents, of mechanism for opening the envelop along three of its edges, comprising cutters operating at the sides of the path of the letter to sever the lateral edges of the envelop, a cutter operating across the path of the letter tosever the front or leading edge of the envelop, and means for feeding the letters successively past said cutters and to the separating-rolls, substantially as described.

22. ln a machine of the character described, Vthe combination, with means forscparating an envelop and its contents, of mechanism for opening the envelope along three of its edges, comprising cutters operating at the sides of the path of the letter to sever the lateral edges of the envelop, a cutter operating across the path of the letter to sever the front or leading edge of the envelop, and means fox-.feeding the letters successively past said cutters and to the separating-rolls, the said feeding mechanism being inoperative during the op- IOC IGS 

